Young the Giant is an alternative rock band who debuted in 2010 with their album of the same name. Sameer Gadhia is the lead vocalist, performing with Jacob Tilley on guitar, Eric Cannata on guitar, Payam Doostzadeh on bass guitar and Francois Comtois on drums return to Outside Lands for the third time. Now, with a decade plus and two 10th anniversary albums under their belt, they are once again ready to excite audiences at the legendary festival.
Young the Giant thundered onto the stage to greet and electrify their audience. The song “Jungle Youth” ripped through the crowd who ate it up like animals. The guitarist and bass players were rushing around the stage as they hammered out the familiar rock tune. The song ended and Gadhia said it was time to get things going before the exhilarated the crowd had a chance to recover from the thrilling opener.
The second song up was “The Walk Home” from their newest album, “American Bollywood.” The lead singer felt every line as he rattled off the lyrics with his eyes closed. When the chorus came, the audience became a choir of voices shouting “somebody walk me home.”
Going from their newest album to their first, Gadhia announced their third song, “Cough Syrup.” Thrilled gasps came from some of the spectators at the mention of their favorite song, which they proudly sang along to. As the song went on, the changing digital background displayed wavy silver lines that resembled the cover to the band’s single “Mirrorball/Mind Over Matter (Reprise).” During the lead out of the iconic song, Gadhia said he wanted to see everyone jump, and the crowd did just that.
After “Cough Syrup” came down, Gadhia paused the set for a moment of reflection. He talked about the group’s creative history being linked to The Bay Area, and how their journey of self discovery meant shedding a part of themselves. Gadhia ended his reminiscence by promising to play some of their older songs and deep cuts throughout the rest of the set.
Fourth on the set was a deep cut the audience clearly didn’t know very well, but loved to hear nonetheless. As the end of this song approached, it subtly built and led into “Nothing’s Over,” one of the more known songs from Young the Giant’s second album, “Home of the Strange.” The song’s long bridge soared over their fans who began to clap to the beat of the outro.
Following up the more funky groove of “Nothing’s Over,” the band switched to a harder hitting rock tune. Booming drums made way for delicate falsetto sections in the set’s sixth song, “Dollar $tore.” The climactic conclusion was felt in the bones of the spectators before “Call Me Back” from their album, “Mirror Master” slowed down the feel. However, even though “Call Me Back” was a more relaxed song, everyone still ate it up.
Sticking to the same album, Tilley switched his guitar for a ukulele to play the dreamy backgrounds for their next song, “Superposition.” Gadhia walked the stage as if in a trance while the crowd sang the lyrics to the ballad’s iconic slow section, and “I want you” rang through the audience at the start of every chorus. Once the song faded out, Gadhia teased the next song as he talked about the 10 year anniversary of their second album, “Mind Over Matter.”
Despite the song taking eight years to find its audience, the singer remarked how the album’s title song is now one of their most popular. During this live performance of “Mind Over Matter,” everyone shouted the famous chorus, united in the song’s dreamy lyrics of Tokyo snow and the taste of disaster.
Picking up the tempo of the evening after the experimental soundscape of their last song, Young the Giant rocketed into “Tightrope.” Gadhia played a cowbell in addition to his vocals to up the funk aspects of this groovy alternative melody.
Lead vocalist, Sameer Gadhia, and guitarist, Jacob Tilley, join together during moments of their performance, building off of each other’s energy. Photographed by Caleb Velasquez/BruinLife.
With three songs left on the set list, Young the Giant made a decision that shocked everyone in attendance. To the crowds’ confused amazement, Young the Giant smoothly transitioned into playing “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, arguably singing it better. The alternative crowd welcomed the pop hit and knew a surprising amount of the words as well.
Once the group’s little detour was over, they returned to playing one of their highlighted songs from “Home of the Strange,” “Silvertongue.” Gadhia sang the verses on the back end of the beat before picking right back up into the dance-inducing chorus.
Ending off their incredible performance, Young the Giant took it all back to the start by playing “My Body” from their first album. Fans sang every word to the all too familiar song they have been listening to since 2010, embracing every second of every line and verse. With this being their final song of the night, “My Body” rode them out of town much like a line in the song’s familiar lyrics.
Combining fan favorites with deep cuts and performing songs from their vast discography cemented Young the Giant as one of the best performances at Outside Lands 2024.
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Featured Image Photographed by Caleb Velasquez/BruinLife
